I woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed. There was one more important thing I needed to do before I could focus completely on our wedding banquet though.
Once Becca woke up, we headed to James and I asked, "James, is it possible for us to visit the Duchy's alchemist team today? I would feel a lot better if we can find a solution so our laws can be implemented right away."
James agreed quickly, "it shouldn't be a problem. I haven't had the time to set up a meeting with them, but the Duke can come and visit the team he exclusively funds anytime he wants."
I chuckled, "we are going unannounced? I hope we don't surprise them too much haha."
James admitted, "you never used to care enough to visit when you had your memory, so I'm sure they will be caught unexpected."
Becca thought of the bright side, "if they can help solve our problem, they will be compensated handsomely, so really it's a blessing to them."
I nodded, "from now on I need to regularly visit my employees, so they can be more comfortable with me."
The alchemist team works in a laboratory about 10 minutes from our manor. After a quick carriage ride, I was rubbing my hands outside of the laboratory in excitement.
"Not only do I hope they have a way to accurately tell the parents of a child, but I hope that they have other cool potions that we can use to improve our everyday lives."
James explained, "the alchemist team works year round to research new potions, but they are mainly focused on trying to make potions that will increase combat power in battle. As the captain of the Royal mages and commander of the Kingdom's army during war time, you wanted the team to focus on making yourself and the people you commanded stronger."
I nodded in understanding, "I can see why that would be important to focus on…but now it seems like they won't have what we are looking for. I guess we can just ask them to start making it a priority to research…how long do it take on average to create a potion?"
James answered, "a month or two depending on the complexity. The most important thing about this paternity test potion is that it needs to be very accurate. A potion that is only 90% accurate would defeat the purpose since it will be wrong for 1 out of every 10 babies."
That's pretty disappointing…our laws will not be able to be established for at least a month as the potion is being researched.
While I was lost in thought, James added, "another thing that could ruin our plans is if the materials needed to produce the potion are extremely expensive. Paternity tests aren't needed very often, but if they are so expensive that the average noble family cannot afford one, then it would be a problem."
I scratched the back of my head, "there are a lot of potential problems…"
Becca clapped her hands to break us out of our train of thought, "they are only potential problems! Let's not worry about it until it actually happens"
I shook my head to get out of my daze. "You are right, Becca. For all we know, the research time might be a couple of days and the cost might be a few copper coins."
Becca smiled, "that's the spirit, now let's stop waiting at the door and actually get started."
I nodded my head and pushed open the big double door entrance to the laboratory. In the room we entered, there were many people working diligently at different stations.
The man nearest the door looked up at us when he heard us enter. Once he recognized us, he quickly jumped up from his seat and walked over.
He bowed, "Welcome Duke Harrison, how can I help you?"
I explained, "we have come for some very important business. We absolutely need a potion that can accurately identify the parents of a child. Could you point me to the person who's research is most related to that?"
The man hesitated for a moment before revealing, "actually, I have already created the exact type of potion you are looking for."
I was shocked at the good luck. "Really?! How long does it take to make one potion? How expensive are the ingredients?"
The man gave a vague answer. "It shouldn't take more than a day to make. I created this potion so long ago that I don't remember all the ingredients exactly. But it shouldn't be extremely expensive. Let me go back and grab the recipe I have stored away."
This lack of a concrete answer made me worried. "Okay, hurry up and start making the potion. We will wait here for the rest of the day, if we need, to see the final product."
The man bowed and quickly left to a room in the back. With all the commotion, most of the other alchemists circled around us. I heard someone whispering, "Phillip is so luck to be the first to notice the Duke…"
I didn't understand the jealousy. No matter who talked to me first, the person who would be lucky would be the person who created the potion I needed. So it would always be the first person I talked to, it seems his name is Phillip.
I decided in my mind that I would try my best to make the alchemists on the team to not be jealous of each other and instead be supportive. I called out to the people circling around me, "do any of you have any impressive new potions to show me? I am interested in producing a few more innovations."
Everyone got excited and started waving their hands to try to get my attention first. I put my hands up to calm the emotions of the crowd.
"Don't worry. I will listen to everyone's creations, so no need to worry about the order."